Cushion



May 9, 1967 G. H. CALLUM 3,318,636

CUSHION Original Filed April 18, 1962 2! I, k N -QX INV TOR GEORGE H. CALLUM ATTORNEY,

United States Patent 3,318,636 CUSHION George H. Callum, South Bend, Ind., assignor to United States Rubber Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Continuation of application Ser. No. 188,505, Apr. 18, 1962. This application Oct. 6,1965, Ser. No. 497,595 2 Claims. (Cl. 297-457) This invention relates to cushioned articles such as seats, seat backs, safety and decorative paddings, and also those cushioned articles constituting both seat and back portions which are now generally described as bucket seats. This application is acontinuation of copending US. application Ser. No. 188,505, filed Apr. 18, 1962. a I

In US. patent application Ser. No. 414,491 filed Nov. 18, 1964 by Richard C. Bolesky, there is disclosed a method of making cushionedarticles comprising providing a vacuum table and placing on said table an assembly comprised of 1) a hard and rigid support which serves as a cushion base, (2) a core of resilient padding material on the cushion base, and (3) a fabric covering the core of resilient padding and extending beyond the vertical edges of the base, the lower surface of the base being coated with a film of adhesive in the area adjacent the vertical edges thereof, and the under surface of the fabric also being coated with a film of adhesive in that portion which is adjacent to the adhesive on the lower surface of the base. A flexible elastomeric diaphragm is then lowered over this assembly and onto the vacuum table and the air between the diaphragm and the surface of the vacuum table is evacuated, thereby drawing the diaphragm firmly around the assembly and causing the fabric to be pulled taut and bonded to the lower surface of the cushion base in the area of the film of adhesive. The base, which is preferably placed on a pedestal on the vacuum table, is described in the application as being made of cardboard, wood, fiber board, or' similar stiff materials, and has a surface area larger than that of the pedestal on which it is centered. Alternatively, the application states that the cushion base may be made of plywood, metal, shipboard, plastic, rigid rubber compositions, rigid cellular materials, or the like.

The present invention is an improvement over the above-mentioned disclosure and contemplates the substitution of a rigid annular base member for the solid sup porting base member therein disclosed. The annular base member of the present invention may take the form of a tubular member or of a flat metal strap.

The instant improvement permits the manufacture of cushioned articles having both seat and back portions in one operation. It also permits the obtaining of further economies in the use of the method disclosed in the above-mentioned application.

Other advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the appended drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view in cross-section showing the apparatus used in the method of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken through the apparatus of FIG. 1 (on line 2-2) prior to the lowering of the flexible elastomeric diaphragm;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the annular base memher in the form of a tubular member, resting on the centrally located pedestal of the vacuum table;

FIG. 4 is perspective view of an alternate type of annular base member, i.e., a flat metal strap, shown resting on the vacuum table pedestal and above which is shown the core of resilient padding material, the outer wearresistant cover and a metal plate which may optionally be placed over said wear-resistant cover prior to the lowering of the diaphragm;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the core 'of resilient padding material placed over the annular basementber, the under surface of the core in contact with the base member being adhesively joined thereto;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an elastic member, i.e., a continuous diaphragm, stretched across an annular base member in the form of a flat metal strap;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an elastic member in the form of elastic webbing stretched across the top of an annular base member in the form of a tubular member;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional View through a modified form of apparatus suitable for making cushioned articles having both seat and back portions in one operation by the method of the invention;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a tubular angular base member suitable to form a rim extending around the periphery of the angular pedestal shown in cross-sectio in FIG. 8; and

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of an alternate method of carrying out the invention.

Referring to the drawings and in particular to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, there is disclosed a cushioned article comprised of a rigid annular base member 10, a core of resil! ient padding material 11 which serves as the cushioning and an outer-wear-resistant cover 12, which may be a vinyl coated fabric.

A pedestal 13 is placed on a vacuum table 14, as shown. Pedestal 13 has the same general spatial form and out line as does the finished cushioned article, i.e., it may be round, oval, flat or contoured, but in all cases, it is smaller in external dimensions than the final cushioned article by a certain predetermined amount. Pedestal 13 is provided with a series of pins 15 around its outer vertical wall surface 16, which pins extend outwardly there from.

The annular base member 10, which may be made of tubular steel and which provides support for the cushion, is then placed on pedestal 13 so as to form a therearound. The outer dimensions of annularbase member 10 conform substantially to the finally desired dimensions of the cushioned article. Annular base member 10 is supported by. and rests on pins 15.

Regarding the size of annular base member 10 as com pared with pedestal 13 generally the protrusion of mem, ber 10 beyond the vertical edges of pedestal 13 is determined by the surface area necessary to provide for an adequate lasting bond between the cover material 12 and annular base member 10. When pins 15 support member 10, as above mentioned, member 10 need not protrude beyond the vertical edges of pedestal 13 a distance greater than the diameter of the tubular member. (See FIGS. 2 and 3.)

The core of resilient padding material 11, which may conveniently be a latex foam rubber, is then placed over annular base member 10 and pedestal 13. The edges 20 of foam core 11 generally coincide with the edges 21 of annular base member 10, although this does not always have to be the case. In some instances, foam core 11 may be cut over size, so that during the forming operation some of the foam material is wrapped around the edges 21 of annular base member 10, thereby resulting in a cushioned edge on the final product. Where foam core 11 is cut over size, however, the amount of protrusion beyond edges 21 will not exceed, on any one side, the thickness of member 10, e.g., the diameter of the tubular steel member. With this limitation, the resilient padding material does not have the opportunity to be wrapped around to the under surface of annular base member 10.

The under surface of core 11 is adhesively joined to the upper surface 22 of annular base member 10, as shown in FIG. 5, when the resilient padding material is not to be wrapped around annular base member 10. Where, however, foam material is wrapped around member 10, the foam is not adhesively joined to the upper surface 22 thereof.

Thereafter cover 12 is positioned over foam core 11. Cover 12 is cut to a predetermined size to permit it to extend over the edges 20 of core 11 and the edges 21 of annular base member and to reach approximately to the point where annular base member 10 contacts pedestal 13. Specifically, where a tubular. member is used as the annular base member and is supported on pins 15, as shown in FIG. 3, cover 12 extends between 180 and 270 around the tubular member, as measured from the top of the tubular member. In the case where a flat steel strap is used as the annular base member, as shown in FIG. 4, cover 12 does not extend back beyond the inner limiting edge of the annular base member.

The exposed under surface of annular base member 10 is adhesively coated, as is the under surface 12a of cover 12 in that portion which is adjacent annular base member 10, that is, in that portion which would be adjacent annular base member 10 after forming the cushioned article.

At this point a metal plate 23 of the same size as annular base member 10 may optionally be placed over cover 12. Plate 23 has the same shape and configuration as annular base member 10 and has the same outer dimensions. (See FIG. 4.) Use of metal plate 23 is not needed when pedestal 13 makes intimate overall contact with foam core 11. At this point it may be noted that metal plate 23, although the same size as annular base member 10, may not be the same size as foam core 11, as the latter may purposely be cut over size, as previously mentioned.

Thereafter, a flexible heated elastomeric diaphragm 24 (in a suitable frame 25) is lowered over the assembly of materials above described and onto vacuum table 14, and vacuum is applied to evacuate the air between diaphragm 24 and the surface of vacuum table 14 by means of the vacuum lines 26. This draws diaphragm 24 firmly around the assembly of materials and causes cover 12 to be pulled taut and bonded to annular base member 10 in the areas of contact.

It might be noted that where pins are used on pedestal 13 to support annular base member 10, diaphragm 24 is prevented from pulling cover 12 completely around member 10. In this situation it is necessary to flatten the cover area by hand after the assembly is removed from the forming apparatus. There is no need for a vacuum-tight seal between cover 12 and member 10, inasmuch as diaphragm 24 merely pulls or conforms cover 12 around annular base member 10.

If the adhesive which waspreviously placed on the exposed under surface of annular base member 10 and the under surface 12a of cover 12 is a heat-sensitive adhesive, e.g., a polyvinyl acetate water base adhesive, it may be desirable to have a heating element 27 enclosed within pedetal 13 and vacuum table 1 4, as shown in FIG. 2. This is not absolutely necessary, however, as the diaphragm 24 is also heated. A heated diaphragm alone is sufiicient to activate the heat-sensitive adhesive on the exposed under surface of annular base member 10 in that portion which will contact the under surface 12a of cover 12. A diaphragm alone, heated to from 150 F. to 300 F., generally will provide sufficient heat for most heatsensitive adhesive compositions. It is important to note that the heated diaphragm 24 not only activates the heatsensitive adhesive, but also warms cover 12 slightly, thereby to permit better forming of the material. This is especially important when utilizing unsupported films or vinyl coated fabrics as materials for cover 12.

Vacuum pressure is maintained until the adhesive sets. Diaphragm 24 is then raised by means of frame and the completed cushioned article is then removed. An adequate bond is achieved between cover '12 and annular base member 10 in approximately 5 seconds with most heat-sensitive adhesives. Therefore, it is recommended that the vacuum pressure be maintained on the unit from 5 to 10 seconds total time.

Inasmuch as annular base member 10 furnishes rigid support only around the periphery of the cushioned article, the type of cushion produced by the above-described method can only be used on seat bases which furnish full support for the cushion. Where the seat base does not fully support the entire underside of the cushion, it is necessary to modify the method as will be hereinafter described. V

In FIG. 7 a tubular steel annular base member30 is shown, across which an elastic member 31 is attached by means of rivets 32.. (Although a tubular member is shown by way of illustration,-it should be understood that a flat strap may also be used.) Elastic member 31 may desirably comprise elastic webbing 33 of the type disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 2,977,270. Instead of attach.

ing elastic Webbing 33 to annular base member 30 by rivets 32, the attachment may also be accomplished by the use of suitable adhesives. Alternatively, elastic member 31 may comprise a continuous elastic diaphragm 34 stretching across the annular base member. (See FIG. 6 where a metal strap 35 is shown as the annular base member.) If individual webs are used, however, they may be either separate or interlaced, as shown in FIG.'7;

Where a tubular member is used, webbing 33 is preferably brought approximately three-fourths of the way around member 30 to insure better holding power. the case of a thin metal strap, webbing 33 is not generally brought around to the under surface'of strap35, but is instead riveted to the upper surface. (FIG. 6 is thus actually drawn inverted in the interest of clarity.)

Annular base member 30 with elastic member 31 attached may be used in place of annular base member 10 a with no other changes necessary in the manufacturing operation. With this modification it is possible to use a' seat base which supports the cushion only around the edges by contacting the annular member. A cushioned article made in accordance with this modification furnishes a softer seat, i.e., one which feels more heavily padded or cushioned.

A modification of the above-described method is illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 6. In this modification tubular annular base member 10 is replaced by an annular base member in the form of a fiat steel strap 35, although it should be understood that straps made of other metals may also be suitable. Strap 35 is placed on top of pedestal 13. With this change pins 15 shown in FIG. 3 are no longer necessary. When a 1% inch strap is used for example, pedestal 13 is designed so as to be approximately inch under size on each side.

As in the previously described method using the tubular annular base member, the under surface 36 of strap tire under surface of cover 12, the top and bottom surfaces of foam core 11, and the upper surface of elastic member 31, where such is used. If this is done, the

assembly of different materials forms a laminate which is firmly bonded together when the cushion is made.

Such adhesive bonding is necessary between the various 7 layers when manufacturing an upholstered cushion which is concave when viewed from above.

The method of this invention may also be carried out I in an inverted manner from that hereinabove described. This is shown in FIG. 10. Pedestal 13 is positioned upside-down above diaphragm 24 and the various cushion parts (cover 12, padding material 11 and annular base member are placed on the diaphragm in the manner shown. It should be noted that no pin supports are required to support member 10 and, furthermore, that member 10 need not overlap pedestal 13 by any amount.

In operating by this alternative method, either diaphragm 2 is raised or pedestal 13 is lowered. Thereafter, the air is evacuated between the two, thus to draw diaphragm 24 firmly around the assembly in the manner previously described. Inasmuch as no pins are used, there is no need to flatten the cover area 'by hand after the assembly is removed from the forming apparatus. Furthermore, since annular base member 10 does not overlap pedestal 13, cover 12 can contact the entire surface 10 of member 10. Thus a more finished appearing product is produced, as the complete base member 10 is covered, and a stronger bond is effected between cover 12 and member 10 due to the increased area provided for adhesion between the two materials.

The method of this invention is particularly desirable when forming cushioned articles having both seat and back portions. By suitably modifying the vacuum table and centrally located pedestal, it is possible to manufacture such cushioned articles in one operation. Use of a rigid annular base member, either in the form of a tubular member or a flat metal strap, facilitates this adaptation.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, there is disclosed an angular vacuum table 114 on which is placed a centrally located angular pedestal 113. The angle for both vacuum table 114 and pedestal 113 is determined by the final relationship between the back portion and the seat portion of the cushioned article.

Pedestal 113 performs the same function as pedestal 13 shown in FIGS. l-4. In the case where a tubular angular base member 110 is used (see FIG. 9), the tubular member being performed to the contour and shape of the final cushioned article, pedestal 113 is fitted with pins 115 to support tubular member 110. Tubular member 110 used in this operation may also be modified as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 by the addition of an elastic member held in place by rivets or suitable adhesives, as above described.

Additionally, it is possible to replace tubular angular base member 110 by a suitably formed flat strap, supported as shown in FIG. 4.

As in the method illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, a core of resilient padding material 111 is placed over tubular angular base member 110 and pedestal 113. Thereafter an outer wear-resistant cover 112 is positioned over padding material 111. Cover 112 is cut to a predetermined size to permit it to extend over the edges 120 of padding 111 and the edges of angular base member 110, so as to reach approximately to the point where member 110 contacts pedestal 113, all as previously described.

The various individual layers above described are then coated with adhesive, that is, the entire under surface of cover 112, the top surface of padding 111, and the lower surface of padding 111 and the upper surface of the elastic member, e.g., diaphragm 34 in FIG. 6, where the latter is used. As previously mentioned, there may or may not be an adhesive 'bond between the lower surface of padding 111 and the upper surface of angular base member 110, depending on whether padding 111 is to be wrapped around the edges of member 110. The exposed under surface of tubular angular base member 110 is, however, adhesively coated, as above described in connection with the method disclosed in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Thereafter, a flexible heated elastomeric diaphragm 124 (in a suitable angular frame 125) is lowered over the assembly of materials, adhesively coated as above described, and onto vacuum table 114. Vacuum is applied to evacuate the air between diaphragm 124 and the surface of vacuum table 114 by means of vacuum lines 126. This draws diaphragm 124 firmly around the assembly of materials and causes cover 112 to be pulled taut and bonded to angular base member in the areas of contact. Also, since the various materials in the assembly have been coated with adhesive, they form a laminate when the cushion is made. As in the method illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, diaphragm 124 is preheated to activate the various adhesives and insure better forming characteristics when using unsupported films or vinyl coated fabrics as the cover materials.

The core of resilient padding material in the cushion assembly may be comprised of any conventional padding material, such as latex foam rubber, urethane foam, vinyl foam, hair, excelsior, cotton wadding, etc. Anything that has resiliency may be so employed. The outer wearresistant cover may be made of any conventional upholstery material, e.g., fabric, film or vinyl coated fabric.

Any of a number of thermosetting, thermoplastic or pressure sensitive adhesives may be used in this process. A suitable heat-sensitive adhesive is an aqueous dispersion of polyvinyl acetate resin containing about 55% to 60% solids dispersed therein. Another suitable adhesive is the neoprenephenolic cement described in U.S. Patent No. 2,918,442.

The diaphragm used in the method may be any flexible elastomer having sufficient hot film strength to permit vacuum drawing. A latex having good elongation at both ambient and elevated temperatures can be used. However, I prefer to use a diaphragm of vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene rubbery copolymer, which is a high heat-resistant rubber marketed by E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Inc. under the registered trademark Viton. Such a diaphragm can withstand temperatures of 300 F. and above during continuous use and temperatures of 500 F. for occasional use.

Since changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art in the above invention without departing from the nature or spirit thereof, I do not intend that such be restricted to the techniques and embodiments illustrated and described herein except as set forth in the following claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A contoured cushioned article having a seat portion and a back portion comprising:

(1) a1;1 angularly-shaped core of resilient padding materia (2) an angular base member for supporting said core only around the lower external periphery thereof; and

(3) a flexible cover overlying said core and bonded directly to said base member for maintaining said core in a compressed condition in contact with said base member.

2. The cushioned article of claim 1 wherein said base member has a tubular construction and further comprises an elastic core-supporting member attached thereto.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,785,440 3/1957 Toulmin 5351 X 2,845,997 8/ 1958 Waite 297457 2,942,652 6/1960 Chapman 297458 3,006,689 10/ 1961 Eppink 297457 3,059,919 10/1962 Marchino 267103 3,068,138 12/1962 Friedman 156-212 3,094,716 6/1963 Friedman 156-229 3,146,143 8/1964 Bolesky et a1. 156212 3,206,251 9/1965 Stevens 297457 3,208,085 9/ 1965 Grimshaw 5345 FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner.

CASMIR A. NUNBERG, Examiner. 

1. A CONTOURED CUSHIONED ARTICLE HAVING A SEAT PORTION AND A BACK PORTION COMPRISING: (1) AN ANGULARLY-SHAPED CORE OF RESILIENT PADDING MATERIAL; (2) AN ANGULAR BASE MEMBER FOR SUPPORTING SAID CORE ONLY AROUND THE LOWER EXTERNAL PERIPHERY THEREOF; AND (3) A FLEXIBLE COVER OVERLYING SAID CORE AND BONDED DIRECTLY TO SAID BASE MEMBER FOR MAINTAINING SAID CORE IN A COMPRESSED CONDITION IN CONTACT WITH SAID BASE MEMBER. 